The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

(Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Using this morning’s Senate Benghazi hearings as an opportunity to burnish his Tea Party credentials as he prepares for a 2016 run for the presidency, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul informed Secretary of State Clinton that he not only would he have fired her over the terrorist attack had he been her boss, but that the terrible events that occurred in Eastern Libya stand as “the worst tragedy since 9/11.”

Really? The worst tragedy since 9/11?

What took place in Benghazi was, indeed, a great and terrible tragedy as four Americans lost their lives—possibly avoidably—in the service of their country.

What’s more, I have not hesitated, in this column, to criticize the Obama administration's handling of the information flow in the days following the attack on our outpost in Benghazi.

However, Senator Paul’s performance in this morning's Senate hearings reveals that he is far more interested in scoring political points and making headlines through the tragedy that is Benghazi than he is in learning the lessons of history or showing even the smallest shred of maturity when it comes to convincing us that he has what it takes to be the President of the United States—which he oh so clearly does not.

Were Rand Paul capable of forming a coherent thought on what has truly been our greatest tragedy following 9-11, he might have been considered the following—

Bear in mind that these horrifying numbers—compiled in a war that nobody can really find a single good reason for having fought—do not include the many people in the families of those listed above whose lives are also forever tragically altered—each of whom suffer the same pain of loss as the families of the four souls lost in Benghazi.

Nobody should ever understate the great tragedy in Benghazi.

However, Rand Paul’s desire to score points and show himself to be a ‘tough guy’ serves only to reveal how incredibly unprepared and unqualified he is to be holding elective office as a County dog catcher let alone considering a run for the highest office in the land.

contact Rick at thepolicypage@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter and Facebook